A female Liberal MP who has retained her marginal seat by just 15 votes in the Victorian election is urging her party to embrace a “constitutional requirement” to deliver more women into parliament.

Key points:

  • Louise Staley’s narrow victory in Ripon has made it the most marginal seat in the state
  • She says a mechanism that “effectively behaves as a quota” for Liberal women is needed
  • Labor says it is considering taking court action to challenge the result

The Victorian Electoral Commission this morning declared Louise Staley had officially retained her seat of, in western Victoria, edging out Labor’s Sarah De Santis in the tightest-fought contest this election.

The Labor Party said it was actively considering whether to take court action to challenge the result.

The Liberals won 21 Lower House seats, four of which are held by Liberal women, including Ms Staley, Cindy McLeish , Bridget Vallence  and Roma Britnell.

At both a state and federal level, the Liberal Party has been under recent pressure from within its own ranks to boost the number of female candidates in safe seats.

“We certainly need to deliver more women,” Ms Staley told ABC Central Victoria.

Resource from: https://www.abc.net.au/news/